Frente Amplio = mas burocracia

El Partido Comunista Chino, una empresa de intereses personales

L. P.- Una gran empresa donde sus directivos compiten por defender sus intereses personales y en la que la última palabra la tiene aquel que posee más acciones. Así funciona el Politburó del Partido Comunista Chino de acuerdo con los contactos de la Embajada de Estados Unidos en Pekín, con acceso a los más altos círculos del poder en China.

Diversas fuentes protegidas coinciden en comparar al presidente Hu Jintao con el consejero delegado de una gran compañía. "Hu tiene la mayoría de las acciones y por tanto sus opiniones tienen mayor peso", afirman. Las decisiones en el Politburó, informan, se toman por "consenso", aunque sus miembros "pueden ejercer el derecho de veto" y haya ocasiones en que se someten a votación. Pero lo habitual es que se establezca una discusión hasta que se alcance un consenso. El Politburó, comenta sarcásticamente una fuente, "es el órgano más democrático del mundo".

Algunos temas políticos importantes como la relación con Taiwán o Corea del Norte se deciden en el pleno del Politburó de 25 miembros, pero otros son competencia del Comité Permanente de dicho órgano, integrado por tan solo nueve personas.

Otra fuente protegida señala con nombres y apellidos quiénes son esos altos ejecutivos del poder chino y qué intereses personales concretos defienden: el antiguo primer ministro Li Peng y su familia controlan el sector eléctrico; el zar de la seguridad y miembro del Comité Permanente del Politburó, Zhou Yongkang, y sus socios dominan el petrolero; la familia de Chen Yun, un antiguo líder comunista de la época de Mao, el sector bancario; Jia Quinglin, presidente de la Conferencia Consultiva Política del Parlamento, controla el sector inmobiliario en Pekín; el yerno de Hu Jintao dirige la página web sina.com, una de las más importantes, y la esposa del primer ministro, Wen Jiabao, el de las piedras preciosas. La fuente añade que el liderazgo chino se ha repartido "el pastel económico" del país y que no hay nada que se parezca a un "ala reformista".

Otro contacto de la Embajada norteamericana mantiene que la motivación central de la dirección del PCCh es la necesidad de protegerse a uno mismo y a su familia de futuros ataques una vez que abandonan el poder. Por esa razón, los líderes cultivan protegidos para que defiendan sus intereses una vez que se han retirado. "Es natural", dijo a sus interlocutores norteamericanos, "que alguien como Xi Jinping, que nunca ha tenido enemigos y ascendió gracias a Jiang Zemin, el antiguo líder del partido, se asegure de que Jiang no será acosado o de que su corrupto hijo no sea detenido". La fuente apunta que esta constelación de intereses fomenta las políticas del "crecimiento primero" en contra de las reformas.
http://www.elpais.com/articulo/internacional/futuro/presidente/China/elitista/ambicioso/elpepuint/20101228elpepuint_22/Tes

Brasil los hijos de Lula se enriquecen

Filhos de Lula são sócios em 2 holdings

JOSÉ ERNESTO CREDENDIO DE BRASÍLIA
ANDREZA MATAIS EM SÃO PAULO -FOLHA SP

Dois dos filhos do presidente Lula, Fábio Luís e Luís Cláudio, abriram em 16 de agosto deste ano duas holdings --sociedades criadas para administrar grupos de empresas--, a LLCS Participações e a LLF Participações.

Ao final de oito anos de mandato do pai, Lulinha e Luís Cláudio figuram como sócios em seis empresas.

A Folha constatou, porém, que apenas uma delas, a Gamecorp, tem sede própria e corpo de funcionários.

Seu faturamento em 2009 foi de R$ 11,8 milhões, e seu capital registrado é de R$ 5,2 milhões. Ela tem como sócia a empresa de telefonia Oi, que controla 35%.

As demais cinco empresas não funcionam nos endereços informados pelos filhos de Lula à Junta Comercial de São Paulo. São, por assim dizer, empreendimentos que ainda não saíram do papel.

As seis empresas dos filhos de Lula atuam ou se preparam para atuar nos ramos de entretenimento, tecnologia da informação e promoção de eventos esportivos.

São segmentos em alta na economia, que ganharam impulso do governo federal --Lula, por exemplo, foi padrinho das candidaturas vitoriosas do Brasil para organizar a Copa do Mundo de 2014 e a Olimpíada de 2016.

SÓCIOS

Na maioria desses negócios, Lulinha e Luís Cláudio têm como sócios pessoas próximas de Lula.

Um dos mais novos empreendimentos da dupla, a holding LLCS, por exemplo, foi registrada no endereço da empresa Bilmaker 600, na qual os dois não têm participação societária.

A Bilmaker tem como controlador o engenheiro Glaucos da Costamarques, 70, que é primo do pecuarista José Carlos Bumlai, amigo do presidente Lula.

Os outros sócios da Bilmaker, Otavio Ramos e Fabio Tsukamoto, são sócios de Luís Cláudio, filho do presidente, na ZLT 500, empresa de produção e promoção de eventos esportivos.

Assim como a holding, a ZLT também só existe no papel. Está registrada num endereço no Morumbi onde há só uma casa abandonada.

Criada em julho, a ZLT tem ainda como sócio José Antonio Fragoas Zuffo, empresário da região do ABC.

Sócio na Bilmaker e na ZLT, Otávio Ramos disse à Folha que não sabia que os filhos de Lula haviam registrado uma empresa na sede da Bilmaker.

"Isso me preocupa. Vou ligar para eles. Não sabia nem da existência dessa holding. Não sei nem do que se trata nem quero saber", disse.

Ramos afirmou que a empresa não faz negócios com o governo para não gerar especulações. "Somos amigos deles e já iriam ver maldade." A Bilmaker, disse, é uma empresa de exportação e importação de "qualquer coisa".

A outra holding criada pelos filhos de Lula neste ano, a LLF, foi registrada no prédio da PlayTV, emissora de jogos on-line.

Os programas da PlayTV só são veiculados na Sky, que distribui o canal como cortesia, e pela OiTV. A PlayTV é controlada pela Gamecorp, o maior dos empreendimentos de Lulinha.

A Folha acompanhou um dia de programação e não viu anúncios publicitários.

Inaugurada em dezembro de 2004, a Gamecorp recebeu injeção de R$ 5 milhões da telefônica Telemar (hoje Oi), num negócio investigado pela Polícia Federal há três anos --sem resultados.

Quando se soube em 2006 que a Oi, então Telemar, havia se associado à Gamecorp, o presidente Lula disse à Folha que seu filho era o "Ronaldinho" dos negócios.

"Eles fizeram um negócio que deu certo. Deu tão certo que até muita gente ficou com inveja", afirmou. No final de 2009, a empresa tinha capital negativo.

G4

Meses antes de a Gamecorp ser constituída, Fábio Luís se tornou sócio da G4 Entretenimento e Tecnologia Digital, tendo como parceiros filhos de um velho amigo de Lula, Jacó Bittar, fundador do PT e ex-prefeito de Campinas, hoje no PSB.

Foi por meio da G4 que Lulinha virou sócio de outra empresa, a BR4 Participações, criada em 2004, e que, três anos depois, ganhou como sócio Jonas Leite Filho, sobrinho do ex-senador Ney Suassuna (PMDB-PB).

Jonas Leite é conhecido pelo projeto que criou a versão da Bíblia lida pelo apresentador Cid Moreira, da TV Globo, um sucesso de vendas. A BR4 é, por sua vez, acionista da Gamecorp.

OUTRO LADO

Lulinha disse à Folha que sua evolução patrimonial nos últimos oito anos está de acordo com suas atividades profissionais e com seus ganhos.

O mesmo afirmou o seu irmão Luís Cláudio. "É público e notório: trabalho com futebol e tive o retorno compatível com a minha atividade profissional em grandes clubes do país, como São Paulo, Palmeiras, Corinthians e Santos", afirmou.

Luís Cláudio disse que a LLCS foi registrada no endereço de outra empresa porque o negócio está no início.

"Ainda estou procurando um local definitivo para a sede. Por ora, ela possui apenas um endereço de referência, que poderá se tornar definitivo caso eu consiga locar uma sala da Bilmaker, gerida por grandes amigos meus."

Com relação à outra holding inaugurada pelos dois em agosto deste ano, a LLF, Luís Cláudio disse que caberia ao irmão responder, o que não foi feito.

Sobre outra empresa criada no papel, a ZLT 500 Sports, Luís Cláudio disse que ela "irá atuar também no ramo esportivo, mais especificamente, na área de gestão de eventos esportivos".

	Editoria de Arte/Folhapress

 

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FOLHA REVELA NEGÓCIOS DOS FILHOS DE LULA ATÉ A OI

 Com a imprensa livre, não dá para segurar segredos. O mal que fazem cedo ou tarde aflora. Agora é possível explicar o porquê de as autoridades ficaram silenciosas sobre a grande crise aberta pela Oi calando a Bahia e paralisando conexões da internet, não somente na Capital, mas em todo o Estado. A crise da incompetente concessionária de telefonia – que exibe o primeiro lugar em reclamações no Procon- com o incêndio na sua sede do Itaigara sem tivesse plano B para por em prática, estabeleceu o mais completo caos ( se é possível o caos ser completo, na medida em que já é), a partir de notícia que nesta terça a Folha de S.Paulo exibe. Diz, com as devidas aspas: “Ao final de oito anos de mandato do pai, Lulinha e Luís Cláudio figuram como sócios em seis empresas. A Folha constatou, porém, que apenas uma delas, a Gamecorp, tem sede própria e corpo de funcionários. Seu faturamento em 2009 foi de R$ 11,8 milhões, e seu capital registrado é de R$ 5,2 milhões. Ela tem como sócia a empresa de telefonia Oi, que controla 35%”. Pois é, segundo o jornal, os filhos de Lula controlam 35% da Oi, ou a Oi controla 35 da Gamecorp, não ficou claro no texto. Continua o jornal: “As demais cinco empresas não funcionam nos endereços informados pelos filhos de Lula à Junta Comercial de São Paulo. São, por assim dizer, empreendimentos que ainda não saíram do papel. As seis empresas dos filhos de Lula atuam ou se preparam para atuar nos ramos de entretenimento, tecnologia da informação e promoção de eventos esportivos.” Pois é. É o moderno capitalismo brasileiro de ser, em pleno expansão. É o sucesso das gerações que prosperam à sombra do poder que o povo concede. Normal, tudo normal... Assim foi que o silêncio se quedou sobre com o mutismo imposto aos usuários do serviço da Oi pelas autoridades daqui e de lá, e aí me refiro a Anatel, esta agência reguladora que não serve para nada. Naturalmente, há de se por tudo no plano da suposição sem desprezar a coincidência apontada pela Folha. Ou não?

Samuel Celestino(www.bahianegocios.com.br)

Vargas Llosa - la degradación política e intelectual de Argentina

“Siempre entro en la perplejidad y la confusión cada vez que me preguntan por la Argentina. Yo creo que entiendo todo en política latinoamericana salvo la Argentina. Para mí, la Argentina es una especie de galimatías indescifrable”, le dice Vargas Llosa a PERFIL.

—¿Qué es lo que no entiende?

—¿Cómo se puede entender el caso de Argentina? Un país que era democrático cuando tres partes de Europa no lo eran; un país que era uno de los más prósperos de la Tierra cuando América latina era un continente de hambrientos, de atrasados. El primer país del mundo que acabó con el analfabetismo no fue Estados Unidos, no fue Francia; fue la Argentina con un sistema educativo que era un ejemplo para todo el mundo y que constituía un instrumento extraordinario de creación de igualdad de oportunidades para todos los ciudadanos. Ese país, que era un país de vanguardia, ¿cómo puede ser que sea el país empobrecido, caótico, subdesarrollado que es hoy? ¿Qué pasó? ¿Alguien los invadió? ¿Estuvieron enfrascados en alguna guerra terrible? No. Los argentinos se hicieron eso. Los argentinos eligieron a lo largo de medio siglo las peores opciones y además siguieron eligiendo las peores opciones a pesar de todas las experiencias negativas.

—¿Usted se refiere al peronismo?

—Eso es. El peronismo es elegir el error, perseverar en el error a pesar de las catástrofes que se han ido sucediendo en la historia moderna del país. ¿Cómo se entiende eso? Un país de gentes cultas, absolutamente privilegiado, una minoría de habitantes en un enorme territorio que es un continente que concentra todos los recursos naturales. ¿Por qué no son el primer país de la Tierra? ¿Por qué no tienen el mismo nivel de vida que Suecia, que Suiza? Porque los argentinos no han querido. Han querido, en cambio, ser pobres. Han querido vivir bajo dictaduras, han querido vivir dentro del mercantilismo más espantoso. Hay en esto una responsabilidad del pueblo argentino. Eso es lo primero que tendría que reconocer la Argentina. Nadie les hizo eso. Lo construyeron ustedes mismos.

—Se nota que es algo que le duele mucho.

—Para mí, es espantoso lo que ha ocurrido en la Argentina. La primera vez que fui allí, quedé maravillado. Un país de clases medias, donde no había pobres en el sentido latinoamericano de la pobreza. ¿Cómo puede estar una pareja como los Kirchner gobernando ese país? ¡Qué degradación política, qué degradación intelectual! ¿Cómo es eso posible?

http://www.diarioperfil.com.ar/edimp/0368/articulo.php?art=14716&ed=0368

A Nation in Motion - Texas is looking like the new California

The Census reveals a people who are moving to pro-market red states
The Census is in. There are now 308.74 million Americans, an increase of 27 million, or 9.7%, since 2000. Americans are still multiplying, one of the best indicators that the country's prospects remain strong.

About 13 million of that increase were new immigrants. These newcomers brought energy, talent, entrepreneurial skills and a work ethic. Their continued arrival in such large numbers validates that the rest of the world continues to view the U.S. as a land of freedom and opportunity.

The Census figures also confirm that America is a nation in constant motion, with tens of millions hopping across state lines and changing residence since 2000. And more of them are moving into conservative, market-friendly red states than into progressive, public-sector heavy blue states.

In order the 10 states with the greatest population gains were Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Idaho, Texas, North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Colorado and South Carolina. Their average population gain was 21%. In the fast-growing states, the average income tax rate is 4% versus 6.9% in the slowest growing states.

The average population gain of the bottom 10 states was 2%. They include most of the states now famous for fiscal distress: Michigan, Ohio, New York, Illinois. Michigan was the one state that actually had a net loss of population in the past decade.

Particularly troubling is that three of America's traditionally high-octane states—California, New Jersey and New York—are in the population and economic doldrums.
Interactive Map: 2010 Census Data
Full List: Which States Gained House Seats, Which States Lost
Census Losers: N.Y., N.J. Shed Congressional Seats
New York's population grew only 2%, while New Jersey grew at less than half the U.S. average. California's population, a source of its rising economic prosperity throughout the 20th century, grew only at the national average. For the first time since 1920, the not-so-Golden State failed to gain a single new House seat, an astonishing event. The place that once led the rest of the nation in technology, innovation, venture capital and cultural trend-setting is now reaping the whirlwind of its profligate political regime in Sacramento.

Meanwhile, the West and South continue to gain strength, while the Northeast, a blue state bastion, stagnates. Only New Hampshire, with the huge advantage of no income or sales tax, is doing relatively well, with population growth twice that of the rest of the region.

The Census exercise is also about the rise and fall of political clout, and here the runaway winner is Texas. It gets four new Congressional seats, followed by Florida with two seats, and Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, South Carolina, Utah and Washington gaining one seat. With the exception of Washington, these are all relatively Republican states.

The losers are states the Democrats traditionally look to for support. New York and Ohio lose two seats. Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey and Pennsylvania are all down one seat. When combined with the impact of redistricting within states, Republicans could be in position to gain more House seats in 2012 on top of their 63-seat gain this year. You'd expect the blue states to undertake economic reform out of simple political self-interest.

The Census numbers are one way to judge which public policies are working in the country and which aren't. Texas is looking like the new California. And California, Michigan, New Jersey and New York need to look deep into themselves to discover a more promising result 10 years from now.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704851204576034071534144888.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_AboveLEFTTop

Matar al mensajero - Pablo Da Silveira

Los últimos resultados de la prueba internacional PISA confirman el desastre que ya habían anunciado las mediciones anteriores. Más del 40 por ciento de los estudiantes uruguayos están por debajo del nivel de aprendizajes que les permitiría tener mínimas oportunidades en la vida. De un total de 64 países evaluados, Uruguay quedó en el puesto 47. Esto significa un retroceso de varios puestos en relación a las ediciones anteriores.

También hemos perdido el poco vistoso título de ser los mejores del barrio. Cuando Uruguay empezó a participar de las pruebas PISA, ningún otro país latinoamericano obtenía mejores puntajes. Poco después Chile nos alcanzó, y ahora nos superó. La cosa no deja de ser irónica. La reforma educativa chilena fue durante años la gran bestia negra. Desde los sindicalistas más radicales hasta Germán Rama, todos la señalaban como el peor modelo a seguir. Y cuando se trataba de descalificar a un interlocutor, la manera rápida consistía en acusarlo (aunque fuera falso) de querer instalar en Uruguay una reforma "a la chilena". Pero ahora resulta que el sistema educativo chileno no sólo obtiene mejores resultados en términos de aprendizaje, sino que es menos desigual que el uruguayo. Es decir: si hoy estuviéramos como están los chilenos, estaríamos mejor.

Los resultados de PISA confirman algo que ya sabemos: el sistema educativo uruguayo se derrumbó. Está en estado de colapso. Toda nuestra tradición educativa, todos los recursos que hemos volcado (el gasto educativo como porcentaje del PBI aumentó casi un 40 por ciento entre 2004 y 2009), todas las palabras lindas que se han dicho ("educación, educación, educación"), no han podido impedir que hoy estemos ante un montón de ruinas. Y lo peor es que las cosas van a seguir empeorando. Los problemas de nuestra enseñanza no están en la falta de dinero ni en la ausencia de diagnósticos (¡tenemos demasiados!), sino en el gobierno del sistema y la gestión de los centros. Lo que nos paraliza es una mezcla de corporativismo y afán de control político de la que será difícil liberarnos. La Ley de Educación impuesta durante el gobierno del presidente Vázquez es el candado que nos mantendrá atados a este desastre, tal vez durante décadas.

Pero cuando creíamos que ya lo habíamos visto todo, apareció la frutilla sobre la torta: hace unos días se supo que las autoridades del Consejo de Educación Secundaria están discutiendo la validez de las pruebas PISA y considerando la posibilidad de sustituirlas, posiblemente en coordinación con algunos países vecinos. O sea: como no nos gusta la noticia, vamos a matar al mensajero. No importa que la prueba PISA sea la más respetada en todo el planeta por su rigor técnico y por la confiabilidad de resultados.

Lo único que importa es que nos incomoda. Y ante eso no hay mejor solución que repetir la experiencia argentina con el INDEC: construyamos un conjunto de indicadores en el que nadie crea pero que vuelva imposible toda rendición de cuentas. Si es verdad que el Consejo de Educación Secundaria está manejando esta idea, el Senado debería considerar la destitución de sus miembros.

The Coming Iraqi Business Boom

Foreigners can own 100% of Iraqi companies, must pay only a 15% flat tax on profits, and may take 100% of those profits home when and how they please.
By BARTLE BULL
The expected announcement of Iraq's new government marks the culmination of a remarkable process. The former bully-boy of the Arab neighborhood has become its only functional democracy. What may be the world's richest resource economy, once the closed shop of a murderous clique, is today wide open for business.
Driven by what many geologists consider the world's largest oil reserves, Iraq will probably be the world's biggest crude oil producer within a decade. The country currently ranks second to Saudi Arabia in official reserves, with 143 billion barrels. With much of Iraq's exploration still to come after a three-decade hiatus, and with Saudi Arabia's reserves substantially inflated and already in decline, Iraq could take the mantle as No. 1 in fairly short order.
Iraq last year signed 12 oil contracts that promise to take output from under two million barrels per day currently—less than Algeria—to over 12 million by 2016. This timeline is probably optimistic, but the contracts will likely see Iraq surpass Saudi Arabia's 10 million to 11 million barrels per day within a decade. And these figures include no contributions from Iraqi Kurdistan, from natural gas reserves, or from new oil fields, with which the lightly-explored country is replete.
The Saudi comparison suggests that as Iraq's oil production rises, its economy could grow approximately six-fold over the coming decade—gross domestic product is currently $66 billion—and add a mind-boggling $300 billion in annual GDP. This means one of the largest economic reconstruction and development booms in history.
The entire Iraqi economy is being rebuilt. The government's electricity program has a $50 billion price tag. Baghdad has awarded the reconstruction of Sadr City to six Turkish companies at a cost of $11 billion. Nationwide, thousands of police stations, schools and clinics will be built. Airports, bridges, dams, railways and roads are being planned. The $20 billion Al Faw port project will create the leading port in the Persian Gulf. A modern army, air force and navy will be trained and armed. The investment programs of last year's 12 oil deals alone add up to well more than $200 billion.
The holy cities of Najaf and Karbala currently receive more annual visitors than Mecca but have almost no hotel space or modern residential facilities. Iraq's real-estate sector generally is warming up, with Abu Dhabi companies alone committing over $65 billion in the last year. New refineries, cement plants and steel mills are being financed across the country.
Iraq's greatest resource is its famously resourceful, tough, educated and enterprising people. Whereas the capitals of the Gulf oil monarchies did not have paved streets a generation or two ago, Baghdad and Basra are ancient capitals of commerce, ideas and global finance.
Oil, people and history are not Iraq's only advantages. One of the important food-exporting countries of world history, watered by the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, Iraq possesses abundant agricultural potential. Located at the head of the Persian Gulf, Iraq is poised to regain its ancient role as a trade link between East and West. A modern rail system linking the Gulf to Europe via Turkey will provide Asian exports a faster, safer and cheaper alternative to the Suez Canal and the Horn of Africa.
Perhaps most important of all, Iraq's is a free economy. There is no ruling family, party or tribe in Iraq, and there is no culture of religious imposition.
There is strong evidence that Iraq can avoid much of the "oil curse" and build a more cosmopolitan and modern economy than those of its autocratic neighbors. In the last election, senior Iraqi leaders campaigned on, among other things, establishing individual oil accounts for Iraq citizens to receive their share of the nation's wealth directly. Unique among the region's resource economies, this would put the state at the mercy of the people, not the other way around.
The quality of Iraq's economic management is visible in the soundness of its macroeconomic picture. Inflation is under control at 5% per year, the government budget will likely be balanced with increased exports in 2011, and the Iraqi dinar (soon to appreciate as exports take off) has held steady against the U.S. dollar since early 2009. GDP growth, forecast by the International Monetary Fund to be 11.5% for 2011, is already among the highest in the world, with the investment boom barely in its infancy and the export surge yet to begin.
Corruption, of course, is a problem. But Iraq's oil industry, which accounts for 80% of the economy, is one of the world's most transparent. Last year's auctions were subject to competitive bidding, the contract terms were announced publicly, and the bids were opened live on national television.
To followers of extractive industries, it was previously unimaginable that this could happen outside of a few highly developed countries like Norway or Australia. This year Iraq was accepted on the membership track for the international Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative. It is the only Middle Eastern oil country even to apply.
Violence in Iraq is now mostly a criminal matter. Over the past two years, the country has suffered fewer than 40% of the deaths by violence that Mexico has. Iraqi fatalities are now well below the levels seen during the quiet months immediately following the U.S invasion in 2003. A visit to Baghdad or Basra today isn't intimidating for businessmen accustomed to Lagos or Rio de Janeiro.
Bureaucracy is Iraq's biggest problem. Incorporating local entities is expensive and time-consuming. Obtaining a visitor's visa is absurdly difficult for a country requiring so much foreign investment. And numerous ministries and government agencies frequently claim authority over simple business matters. But the big picture for foreign companies is positive, as Iraq has a substantially more modern and liberal regulatory framework than almost any nearby country. Foreigners can own 100% of Iraqi companies, must pay only the 15% flat tax that the rest of the economy pays on profits, and may take 100% of those profits home when and how they please.
Nine months has been a long time to wait for a new government, but the process has happened peacefully and constitutionally. That's far more encouraging than all the country's oil reserves together.
Mr. Bull, a former journalist, is a founder of Northern Gulf Partners, an Iraq-focused investment bank.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703886904576031510722493874.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_LEADTop#

Panama Canal: Troubled History, Astounding Turnaround

Executive Summary:

In their new book, The Big Ditch, Harvard Business School professor Noel Maurer and economic historian Carlos Yudiscuss the complicated history of the Panama Canal and its remarkable turnaround after Panama took control in 1999. Q&A with Maurer, plus book excerpt. Key concepts include:

• The Panama Canal was a "successful American venture into imperialism," in which the United States threatened military force to get a good deal.
• In spite of cost overruns that doubled initial estimates, the canal eventually provided massive cost savings to intercoastal commerce and a great revenue stream to the United States in the first half of the 20th century. By 1940, America's national income was some 4 percent higher than it would have been without the canal.
• The canal decreased in importance to the United States after World War II, due in part to the dieselization of the railroads and the Interstate Highway System. The United States ceded control of the canal because it no longer had a good reason to be in charge of the tolls, and because the canal was becoming more of an economic drain than a benefit.
• Since the handover, Panama has run the canal as a profit-making enterprise rather than as a public utility—and has been very successful, in spite of competition from other modes of transport.

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About Faculty in this Article:

Noel Maurer is an associate professor in the Business, Government and the International Economy unit at Harvard Business School.

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• Noel Maurer - Faculty Research Page 

Tercerizaciones en el agro - JULIO PREVE FOLLE

La administración anterior se caracterizó por un entendimiento muy modesto de la realidad agropecuaria, influida quizás por el hecho de que sus ministros la conocían muy tangencialmente, y manifestaban una baja propensión a dejarse asesorar. Esto llevó no sólo a una ausencia total de nuevas políticas sectoriales -por suerte, cabe agregar- sino a una enorme dificultad para llevar a la práctica sus propias acciones, lo que condujo algunas veces al presidente actual a quejarse de que no se podía hacer nada. Sólo nos queda de ese quinquenio la zarabanda reiterada sobre la agricultura familiar, nuevas e innecesarias personas de derecho público no estatal, reparto de algunos quilos de afrechillo, amenazas al modelo agrícola, a la suba de precios, a los extranjeros en la frontera y prohibición -en realidad más trámites- para las sociedades anónimas. Casi me olvidaba: dejó también un buque insignia, la caña de azúcar, un agujero negro para la sociedad.
De entre las realidades que transitó con poco conocimiento, otra de ellas fue la legislación sobre tercerizaciones, la que más allá de condimentos ideológicos, tiene una aplicación que si es gravosa en el mundo urbano, es prácticamente imposible en el mundo rural.
LA LEY. La ley que suscita discusiones hasta el día de hoy es la 18.099, que modificó una anterior, la 10.449. Esta última establecía la responsabilidad subsidiaria del tomador de servicios, pero exclusivamente por los adeudos de salarios del contratista para con sus contratados, y solo por los salarios mínimos. La nueva ley realizó un cambio sustantivo: la responsabilidad dejó de ser subsidiaria, se convirtió en solidaria, y abarcó todas las obligaciones del contratista como empleador, tanto salariales como indemnizatorias y tributarias. Es decir no sólo salarios impagos sino las demás obligaciones de naturaleza salarial -aguinaldo, licencia, salario vacacional- aportes al BPS, prima por accidentes de trabajo, deudas con el Banco de Seguros, etc. Hasta la nueva ley, el tomador del servicio respondía siempre que el empleador directo no lo hiciera y con aquellos límites; hoy, el trabajador tiene dos posibilidades a las que acudir, pudiendo solicitar que responda su verdadero patrón o el que con éste contrató el servicio.
El sustrato de la ley era claro. Partía de la base de que los contratistas pueden ser inestables, insolventes, y el legislador encontró entonces que para mejorar la suerte del trabajador, otro debía pagar sus eventuales acreencias. Y el elegido fue el empresario original. Podía haber seleccionado otras garantías, provistas por innumerables modalidades diferentes como ocurre con los microcréditos, los alquileres, etc. Pero optó por el camino que la ideología sugería: cargarlo al capitalista, tenga o no tenga nada que ver. Es así que hay riesgo en contratar un pintor en una casa, una empresa de limpieza, de seguridad, etc. Y en el campo hay que pensar que una comparsa de esquila, o de alambradores, puede determinar un perjuicio serio por incumplimientos de otro.

SERVICIOS HOY. En el sector agropecuario constituyen un factor determinante del crecimiento reciente. La agricultura de éxito se basa en la contratación de todo: el mosquito, el que siembra, el que cosecha, el que fletea. Es más. Las empresas agrícolas más importantes no son propietarias ni de un tractor, y contratan todo a empresas que las proveen. En la forestación ocurre lo mismo y se reproduce este modelo de empresas expertas en gestión, en logística, que lo contratan todo. En la lechería pasa otro tanto cada vez más, y ya sus gremiales advierten sobre el peligro que supone para sus explotaciones la solidaridad con las deudas de terceros. En cuanto a la ganadería, pionera en tercerizaciones en la esquila, el alambrado, etc., se van a ir extendiendo contratos para hacer una pradera, cosechar el grano, realizar los silos, etc. De manera que el tema de tercerizaciones apunta al centro del modelo de desarrollo agropecuario, amenazando una de sus herramientas más modernas que además fabrica nuevos empresarios, nuevas especialidades, etc.
Resulta imprescindible pues, que la legislación sobre tercerizaciones no opere como amenaza al progreso. Ya ha habido importantes denuncias en el sector lechero y el sector forestal de abusos, a veces promovidos por abogados que aprovechan el hueco que les deja la ley.
Pero está también el tema de las pequeñas empresas que empiezan a proveer servicios, y de hecho no pueden aspirar a las mejores contrataciones. Por qué. En un intento por mejorar la ley 18.099, una posterior volvió a la responsabilidad subsidiaria siempre que el que contrata a la empresa desarrolle un control detallado del cumplimiento de ésta con sus obligaciones. En definitiva, si se convierte en policía, su responsabilidad pasa de solidaria a subsidiaria. Para eso debe obtener las constancias que acrediten el cumplimiento de las obligaciones laborales y de seguridad social por parte de la empresa que presta el servicio. Debe exigir: declaración de historia laboral de cada trabajador; recibo de pago de cotizaciones al organismo provisional; certificado que compruebe el pago de las contribuciones a la seguridad social; constancia de pago del seguro de accidentes; planilla de trabajo y recibos salariales.
CAMBIAR. Lo anterior deja en claro que para muchos productores rurales que contratan servicios es una obligación imposible de cumplir, y para otros con una gran organización, les es imposible contratar empresas pequeñas que se inician, y por eso mismo no tienen una gestión administrativa como la que se les pide.
El tema es grave porque el gobierno no está cerca de este mundo de las tercerizaciones y no simpatiza con la creación de empresarios que dejan de ser afiliables a un sindicato, y expresan otro modelo de sociedad. Pero en el campo es todavía peor, ya que no sólo se afecta lo que yo creo será el modo dominante de producir a futuro, sino que a la vez se vuelve casi imposible de cumplir, y no facilita la creación de pequeñas empresas.
Si parece difícil hoy derogar la ley, al menos debería buscarse otro estatuto para la especificidad del sector rural. El MGAP del gobierno anterior no entendía de estas cosas; el actual parece diferente, lo que permite abrigar alguna esperanza.

Luis Osin: Sólo el 20% de los alumnos está ubicado en el grado que le corresponde

17.12.2010 | 17.05
El ingeniero uruguayo Luis Osin, especialista en computación educativa, dijo que el sistema educativo que se aplica actualmente es obsoleto. Entrevistado por En Perspectiva, el educador explicó que “igual edad e igual habilidad no tienen nada que ver”, por tanto, “la estructura en la que el docente declama el mismo material para todos los alumnos es absurda”. A cambio el ex profesor de matemáticas propone un sistema de “educación individualizada”, donde se clasifique a los estudiantes por sus potencialidades y no por su edad. En tal sentido, afirmó que si Uruguay logró “que todos los alumnos tengan computadoras” podría empezar una “experiencia piloto”. Aunque aclaró: “en la forma en que se está utilizado [el Plan Ceibal] hasta este momento dudo mucho de que llegue a tener un impacto educacional del mismo nivel”.
http://www.espectador.com/1v4_contenido.php?id=201481&sts=1

How a euro bond would work.

European leaders want to insert two sentences into Article 136 of the Lisbon Treaty: "The member states whose currency is the euro may establish a stability mechanism to be activated if indispensable to safeguard the stability of the euro area as a whole. The granting of financial assistance under the mechanism will be made subject to strict conditionality."
http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,735199,00.html

Paolo Rocca (Techint) pone "peros" al desembarco chino en Argentina

El presidente de la empresa metalúrgica cuestionó la llegada de capitales asiáticos al país, siendo que en China -señaló- no existen las mismas condiciones para el empresariado argentino.
CIUDAD DE BUENOS AIRES (Urgente24). Falta de reciprocidad. Eso fue lo que cuestionó el presidente de Techint, Paolo Rocca, en cuanto a la llegada de empresas chinas a la Argentina. El principal accionista de la empresa metalúrgica objetó el desembarco de capitales del país asiático y lo fundamentó con que en su territorio no permiten la radicación de su compañía.
Durante su participación este martes (14/12) en el cierre del seminario ProPymes, en el hotel Hilton, Rocca señaló que América Latina se ha convertido "en el escenario en el cual las empresas chinas están invirtiendo en los sectores primarios más que en cualquier otro lugar".
El empresario advirtió que China "no encuentra resistencias" para su arribo a la región y ejemplificó "las compras en el sector energético argentino en estos días". Rocca se refería a la compra de una parte de la petrolera Bridas (flamante propietaria del 100% de Panamerican Energy) por parte de CNOOC y la intención de Sinopec de adquirir activos de la filial local de Occidental Petroleum.
Ante este panorama, el presidente de Techint apuntó que " China no es una democracia, no es una economía de mercado; es un sistema autoritario, centralizado, con unfuerte control central; y Cnooc/Sinopec es una empresa del Estado".

Entonces, Rocca cuestionó que China no permita el ingreso de su empresa a su país. "Ahora, este mismo Estado chino impide que Techint vaya a comprar una empresa en China. No lo permite: las reglas de juego que China aplica nos impiden a nosotros crecer adquiriendo activos en China. Pero nada impide que Sinopec venga y compre activos en la Argentina como empresa del Estado. Lo mismo está pasando en todos los otros países americanos".

"Este es un tema para reflexionar y un tema sobre el cual yo creo que todos los sectores, industriales y financieros, y la clase política de un país, tienen que reflexionar. Otros países, como USA, no han permitido, por ejemplo, una operación parecida para la compra de la petrolera Marathon en otros tiempos; y siguen poniendo obstáculos no sólo en el sector energético sino en el sector primario", puntualizó Rocca.
http://www.urgente24.com/noticias/val/1415/paolo-rocca-(techint)-pone-peros-al-desembarco-chino.html

Google Goes to the Cloud for New Idea in PC System

In the personal-computer industry, where things change fast, one fact has been a constant for years: There are two major, mainstream operating systems for consumers. One, Microsoft Windows, runs on many brands of hardware and dominates sales. The other, Apple's Mac OS X, runs only on its maker's Macintosh computers, and has had a resurgence in popularity in recent years. Other contenders, such as various versions of Linux, have remained on the fringes.
Google's new Chrome OS aims to do everything online, turning the entire PC into a giant browser.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704828104576021571135209978.html?mod=WSJ_hp_mostpop_read

Germán Rama - Alumnos uruguayos "atrasados 3 años"

Según análisis de Germán Rama sobre las pruebas PISA
"Los alumnos en Finlandia están tres años adelantados con respecto a los uruguayos", sentenció el ex presidente del Codicen, Germán Rama, en una conferencia de prensa sobre los resultados de las pruebas PISA ayer en la casa del Partido Colorado.
Según destacó Rama, 40 puntos en las pruebas PISA de la OCDE equivalen a un año de estudio, por lo cual Uruguay está tres años atrasado con respecto a países como Finlandia o Dinamarca.
"Perder tres años en educación es un suicidio", sentenció. Rama comentó que en Finlandia, los niños comienzan a acudir a los centros educativos a edades tempranas y tienen doble horario en primaria y en secundaria.
Rama señaló la alarmante deserción educativa en los adolescentes, que a los 18 años alcanza al 44,1%, y afirmó que los alumnos pasan de tener una maestra en Primaria, "al caos de 14 asignaturas" en Secundaria. Dijo que el alto índice de repetición en primer año "es una masacre".
Según Rama, las pruebas PISA 2009 demostraron que "la gran revelación de América Latina es Brasil", mientras que "Uruguay está estancado" y "Argentina es el país decadente de la región".
http://www.elpais.com.uy/101216/pnacio-535734/politica/alumnos-uruguayos-atrasados-3-anos-/

El lamento de los blancos

Los blancos se quejan y critican al gobierno frenteamplista y a la intendencia comunista, dicen que son un desastre administrando, que no saben ni recoger la basura, que el Pepe es un charlatán y bla bla bla. Tienen razón pero no importa

En el 2014 va a volver a ganar Tabaré, no porque los frenteamplistas sean competentes sino porque los blancos son incapaces de elegir un candidato presidencial de primer nivel

Si el balotaje es Tabaré contra el guapo o contra Chiruchi Tabaré gana por goleada. Si el balotaje fuera Tabaré contra un individuo del nivel de Jorge Grumberg como candidato blanco, Grumberg gana por goleada.

Pero es imposible que Grunberg sea candidato blanco porque la maquinaria del partido blanco solo elige de candidatos presidenciales a políticos profesionales que son generalmente abogados mediocres y o intendentes de pueblo chico.

Los blancos todavía no aprenden a ganara la presidencia, probablemente sigan siendo un partido de intendentes del interior por muchos años

haciendo negocios con los "hermanos" argentinos

Paraguay no irá a Cumbre del Mercosur molesto con Argetina
13.12.2010 | 18.50
El Gobierno paraguayo reiteró este lunes que el presidente Fernando Lugo no asistirá a la próxima Cumbre del Mercosur si no se soluciona el problema de “boicot argentino” a buques y cargas de su país.
La posición fue reiterada a últimas horas por el canciller Héctor Lacognata tras reunirse con el presidente Lugo.
Unos 7.000 contenedores destinados al Paraguay están varados en Buenos Aires debido al boicot de sindicalistas argentinos contra buques paraguayos con cargas de importación y exportación.
Los sindicalistas dicen apoyar a un nuevo gremio fluvial paraguayo no reconocido por los armadores locales, pero éstos afirman que le medida responde a una maniobra de armadores argentinos para monopolizar cargas para el Paraguay.
Lacognata dijo este lunes que hasta el momento no están dadas las condiciones para que Paraguay asista a la Cumbre del Mercosur prevista para el 17 de diciembre en Foz do Iguazú (Brasil), donde debe recibir la presidencia pro tempore del bloque.
Aludió a las grandes pérdidas que está sufriendo la economía paraguaya por el verdadero bloqueo impuesto a las cargas destinadas al Paraguay.
Lacognata convocó días atrás a los embajadores de Argentina, Brasil y Uruguay en Asunción, a quienes reclamó que el Mercosur intervenga en la solución del grave problema que afecta al Paraguay.
El canciller dijo en la ocasión que la medida de fuerza argentina viola el artículo primero del Tratado del Mercosur, que consagra la libre circulación de bienes y servicios entre los países del bloque.
Lacognata aclaró también este lunes que la ausencia paraguaya en la Cumbre significará la no presencia del presidente de la República, del canciller y de los viceministros, entre otros altos funcionarios del país.
http://www.espectador.com/1v4_contenido.php?id=201012&sts=1

Can 'Green Cement' Make Carbon Capture and Storage Obsolete?

By JOHN J. FIALKA of ClimateWire August 13, 2010
The conventional wisdom among utilities, the Obama administration, many scientists and some major environmental groups is that the future of coal-fired electricity under an eventual cap on carbon dioxide emissions will require an overhaul that will be technologically complicated, politically difficult and financially expensive.

Policy experts say that to "decarbonize" the future power system, we will need a new generation of power plants that can separate CO2 from their emissions. They must be connected to a large network of pipelines and injection facilities that can transport the odorless, transparent gas and pump it deep underground. Finally, it will require a regime of new state and federal laws and regulations, probably backed up by insurance policies, to protect against long-term damage from leakage.

There are a growing number of companies and investors that are betting this conventional wisdom is wrong. They are supporting technologies that will separate and then trap carbon emissions in a series of "beneficial products" that can be shipped to markets and sold at a profit. That, they assert, will avoid the need for much of the carbon capture and storage (CCS) infrastructure now on energy planners' drawing boards.

The most outspoken salesman for this approach is Brent Constantz, who has spent much of his career studying, patenting and marketing new ways to make cement. He believes that what he calls "green cement," which starts as a milky precipitate made from injecting carbon dioxide from power plant emissions into seawater, can be made and sold at a profit.

In the Constantz scenario, his "green" cement and "green" aggregate that is used to make concrete would begin to take market share from conventional cement makers, which are the nation's third-largest source of CO2 emissions behind the utility and transportation sectors.

That is because normal cement is made by heating limestone to high temperatures in kilns. The limestone gives off CO2 in the process, and so do the kilns, which are usually coal-fired.

Rather than adding emissions to the atmosphere, green cement and cement aggregates are made by subtracting CO2 emissions and then locking them permanently in construction materials. A price on carbon emissions imposed by states or the federal government would help it replace conventional cement, asserts Constantz, a consulting professor at Stanford University's School of Earth Sciences.

Helping China and India clean up
What he is really counting on, though, is that the product, by itself, will turn a profit -- a message that would resonate in China and India. Their economies are heavily dependent upon coal-fired electricity and also feature soaring demands for concrete. Neither country will be swayed by U.S. legislative moves to require CCS, Constantz believes. "The only way you're going to clean up the environment in China and India is to make it profitable," he adds. "If it's profitable, the Chinese are going to get there before we are."

Constantz's company, Calera Corp., of Los Gatos, Calif., recently appeared on a list of six winners of $106 million in federal stimulus grants awarded by the Department of Energy to demonstrate the "beneficial use" of CO2. The competition was not open to foreign companies. Steven Chu, secretary of Energy, described it as part of a "broad commitment to unleash the American innovation machine."

Elaine Everitt, a project manager for the National Energy Technology Laboratory, which selected the winners, said DOE still believes carbon capture and storage "is the best way to go." But officials have continuing concerns that not all areas of the United States have the right geology to store CO2 underground permanently.

Ten years ago, her agency began exploring the potential of "beneficial use" of CO2. It found few companies interested then. Last year, 115 companies applied for grants. She said her office is preparing to track the six winners to see whether their technology is feasible and "what it would take to scale up to larger commercial use."

In a 233-page CCS report issued by a 14-agency task force of the Obama administration yesterday, it appears that the innovators have failed to convince government policymakers that there is an alternative to CCS. Buried in the back of the report are three pages on "CO2 Reuse" that conclude that none of the alternative ideas will be commercially viable by 2016, when the government is preparing to "roll out" its CCS strategy on a national basis (see related story).

Among the winners of the DOE awards, Constantz, a tall, confident inventor given to professorial lectures as well as sweeping statements, found himself in interesting company. Alcoa Inc. and Eastman Kodak Co. were among the winning teams, as well as Joe Jones, whose company, Skyonic Corp., will use its $25 million grant to build a demonstration plant that turns CO2 emissions from a San Antonio cement plant into bicarbonate of soda for animal feed and other industrial products.

None of the winners has made the case for an alternative approach as doggedly as Constantz. He built a small but solid base for himself in the concrete business by inventing a super-strong cement that orthopedic surgeons use to cement broken bones back together. It sells for $200 a gram.

Addressing 'the entire problem'
As Constantz describes his green cement, the process that makes it mimics the way corals, shellfish and other deep-sea creatures create their shells and skeletons out of calcium and magnesium in seawater. In the late 1980s, he decided it could be scaled up to produce the equivalent of portland cement, the binding ingredient of most concrete.

In 2007 he invited Vinod Khosla, the Silicon Valley investor, to his laboratory at Los Gatos, where he was beginning to make concrete from seawater.

Constantz, who knew relatively little about global warming then, noted that success was limited by the relatively small amount of CO2 dissolved in seawater. He said he turned to Khosla and asked: "Where can we get large quantities of carbon dioxide?"

Three years and about $50 million of Khosla's money later, Calera has a pilot plant operating on at Moss Landing on California's Monterey Bay. It bubbles some of the emissions from a natural gas-fired Dynegy power plant next door through seawater.

The additional CO2 and a patented low-energy electrochemical process increased the production of the chalk-like precursor to synthetic concrete and aggregate by about eight times, according to Calera. The plant makes the equivalent of about a ton of concrete a day, Constantz says.

Testifying last year before a House committee, Constantz asserted that his process could be scaled up at multiple facilities to produce 12.5 billion tons of concrete a year -- roughly as much as world markets consume. If it locked that much CO2 in concrete, the process could begin to cut global CO2 emissions by itself. Or, as he put it more bluntly during a lecture at Stanford: "We can address the entire problem."

He envisions selling "carbon-negative building materials" -- products such as cement, sand and aggregate -- under a regulatory regime that would give credit for products that contained CO2 removed from the atmosphere. One ton of green cement would reduce a building's carbon footprint by almost half a ton, he calculates. Part of the credit could come from providing builders with materials that avoided the emissions from mining and transporting the ingredients of traditional concrete, he adds.

Confronting the 'World of Concrete'
In an interview, Constantz called the Department of Energy's current preoccupation with CCS projects that inject and store carbon underground a "big scam" created by lobbyists from the oil industry. "For every dollar set aside for CCS, you will need to set aside $2 to take care of liability issues."

In his lectures, he has also lashed out at the concrete industry for having a "Phillip Morris problem" with regard to its emissions and climate change, reminiscent of the tobacco company, which spent years fighting charges that cigarettes caused cancer.

In February of 2009, Constantz showcased his idea at a seminar held for cement experts at the annual "World of Concrete" convention in Las Vegas. "There was a lot of interest. It was a packed room," recalled Steven Kosmatka, vice president of research for the Portland Cement Association, sponsor of the convention.

"People are waiting to see what products will be developed and how they will perform," said Kosmatka, who explained that experts do not fully understand Calera's process because some of the critical details were not revealed. "They [Calera] have some proprietary issues they need to protect."

Clay Perry, a spokesman for the Electric Power Research Institute, the nonprofit research arm of the nation's private utilities, said it is examining Calera's technology but cannot comment on it because it has signed a nondisclosure agreement with Constantz's company.

Ken Caldeira, a climate scientist and fellow professor at Stanford University's Department of Environmental Earth System Sciences, said he regarded some of Constantz's earlier claims as "chemical fantasy without any real bounding in reality." Since then, he says, Calera has modified its approach. "There is a whole family of strategies that they are intending to pursue."

"The question is whether they can do this at a scale that's interesting and at a price that's interesting," he said.

Over the past two years, Calera has attracted some potent allies. Peabody Energy, a global leader in the coal industry, bought a $15 million equity position in the company in March. Beth Sutton, a spokeswoman for Peabody, said her company has invested in at least a dozen promising carbon sequestration projects around the world. "This is our philosophy of pursing the ultimate goal of near zero emissions from coal."

(Constantz may have fanned the flames of the industry's interest by asserting to the House committee that his process will help existing coal-fired plants continue operating under government regulations on carbon emissions. "This will save jobs at coal plants, mining sites and in transportation," he said.)

In December, Calera signed an agreement with Bechtel Corp., one of the world's largest engineering and construction firms, to develop carbon capture facilities around the world. Ian Copeland, president of a Bechtel subsidiary, said "the fundamental chemistry and physics of the Calera process are based on sound scientific principles." Its cement-making process can be integrated with power plants, Copeland added.

Aiming too low?
Calera has received $7 million from Australian authorities to build a pilot plant to make building materials out of emissions from a power plant that uses some of the world's dirtiest coal. In April, a federal minister, Martin Ferguson, called the venture "very exciting" and said if the project proves feasible, Australia will contribute up to $40 million more.

One person whom Constantz hasn't been able to sell on the idea is Jones, president and founder of Skyonic. A chemical engineer who spent most of his career in the semiconductor business, Jones founded his company in Austin, Texas, in 2005. Jones thinks Constantz is aiming too low. Entering the concrete market, he says, is "like competing with dirt."

Jones says his invention, called the "SkyMine Process," will use the CO2 emissions from a San Antonio cement plant to make carbonates and bicarbonates, solids and liquids that capture the CO2 molecule. The end result, he says, will be an array of more valuable industrial chemicals including sodium bicarbonate, calcium carbonate, hydrochloric acid, hydrogen and chlorine gases.

While Constantz has Khosla backing him, Jones has another Silicon Valley investor, Carl Berg, helping to bankroll his venture. Jones said he has already proved his products can be sold at a profit, using emissions from a coal-fired powered plant along with salt, electricity and water as basic ingredients. "There has been considerable interest from utilities," he added.

His new plant, to be located next to Capitol Aggregates Ltd., a cement plant in San Antonio, will be in production by mid-2012. That, he said, will give his products access to a potential $3.5 billion market of chemicals "mined" from an invisible gas that what would otherwise have been wafted into the atmosphere.

Making "green cement," he says, is way down his list of product possibilities from "sky mining." "You want to do the lucrative stuff first and have it power your R&D," he said.
http://www.nytimes.com/cwire/2010/08/13/13climatewire-can-green-cement-make-carbon-capture-and-stor-9325.html?pagewanted=all

http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/localnews/ci_15583588

Carbón - el secreto sucio de China

China's Dirty Secret Revealed

Ian Wyatt | SmallCapInvestor Daily | December 9, 2010 12:37pm EST

The energy sector of the market is on fire. Oil recently broke through resistance at $88 a barrel and despite a retracement to that level yesterday, looks poised to go higher in 2010.

A weak dollar combined with upward revisions to global growth and a seemingly successful quantitative easing program (for the time being at least) all lend credence to those calling for higher energy prices.

There are plenty of oil and gas companies out there that small cap investors should consider buying. But with more rapid growth expected in developing nations, I'd recommend taking a look at coal related investments as well.

Coal is cheap, dirty, and hated. The combination, while not necessarily great cocktail party fodder, typically makes for a great investment. The reality is that this commodity is a shoulder energy source for many developing countries that don't yet have the infrastructure to distribute alternative energy sources (that also happen to be more expensive net of tax credits) like wind and solar, as well as more traditional sources like oil and natural gas.

One way to gain broad exposure to coal is through Market Vectors Coal ETF (NYSE: KOL), an option that has returned 17.2 percent for investors so far in 2010, and 40 percent since the end of August.

***A very wise man once said “The 19^th century belonged to England, the 20^th century belonged to the US and the 21^st century belongs to China. Invest accordingly”.  That man was Warren Buffett, one of the most well-known, well respected, and most successful investors in the world. 

During the middle of the global financial crisis, China’s GDP growth slowed to 6.2 percent. It has since returned to previous levels near 10 percent GDP growth. I wish US GDP could hit 6 percent. You have to go back to the 1980s to see the U.S. with that rate of growth.

According to the International Energy Agency (EIA), last year China passed the United States and became the world’s largest energy consumer. The IEA says China consumed about 2.3 billion tons of oil equivalent (btoe) in 2009, while the US consumed 2.2 billion tons, about 4 percent fewer.

This “changing of the guard” was not the least bit surprising to those of us who have been monitoring China's growth. The EIA's chart below shows Asia’s increasing coal consumption over the coming 25 years relative to that of the rest of the world and North America.

As Asia, meaning mainly China, continues to export more and more goods, producers are using more inputs. Naturally, energy is one of the largest of these. Contributing to the growth of energy consumption is the fact that China’s middle class, which according to the Euromonitor International will reach 700 million by 2020, is using more energy as they purchase cars, homes, and other consumer products.  

Fatih Birol, chief economist at IEA, said this change in global energy consumption marks “...a new age in the history of energy”. Avoid the transition at your own profit-peril. You should have some exposure to the trend, and coal mining companies are one of the best ideas.

In the EIA's 2010 International Energy Outlook, the agency projected that coal use would continue to be the second most popular choice for the foreseeable future, through 2035.

Investors should at the very least have some exposure to coal for the simple fact alone that it is one of the largest contributors to global energy output.

Coal is in many ways the antithesis of clean energy, but don't let that fact alone deter you from investing in it. It is plentiful and cheap. Consider coal to be a 'subsidy' to alternatives - phasing alternatives into the energy mix while continuing to use coal keeps the entire energy supply within bounds of what is economically feasible.

The United States only developed so quickly and got to where it is today by using coal and other energy sources that were easily accessible. China and other developing nations represent the country we used to be in terms of energy needs.

The fact remains that coal is the top energy source driving the global economy. Adding coal exposure to your portfolio is the best way to gain exposure to growing energy consumption. Doing so means you’re invested in what is proven to work- that's an approach that would make even Warren Buffet proud.

Further Reading: Small Cap Investor PRO analysts uncovered a high growth coal mining company that is cashing in on the coal boom. This company will report its most recent quarter after the close today. The stock has risen 20 percent since the end of November, and major media outlets are finally catching onto this tremendous growth story. You can get the background on this company, and other fast growing small cap stocks, here. 

permalink | category: Small caps | tags: NYSE:KOL

http://www.smallcapinvestor.com/article/chinas-dirty-secret-revealed/22714

Los sindicatos uruguayos deben modernizarse para que el Uruguay progrese

El objetivo nacional que todos compartimos es mas y mejores empleos
Para lograr este objetivo las prioridades son:

• Calidad de la educación publica
• Calidad y estabilidad de las instituciones en especial la justicia
• Reglas del juego modernas y estables como las del primer mundo
• Calidad de los sindicatos
• Calidad y costo de la infraestructura
• Trabajar todos en equipo estado, trabajadores, profesionales y empresarios

Los sindicatos "inmaduros" tercermundistas destruyen inversión y empleos de calidad, los sindicatos modernos e inteligentes tipo Alemania ayuda a la inversión y la creación de buenos empleos

Para que el Uruguay progrese los sindicatos deben madurar, parecerse mas a los sindicatos alemanes y menos a los sindicatos argentinos

la enorme contribución de Shell y los finlandeses de Botnia y UPM a la industria forestal de Uruguay

Special Report: Discovering Uruguay - Royal Dutch Shell & Botnia

By Graeme Rodden, Editor, Pulp & Paper magazine, RISI


BRUSSELS, June 30, 2008 (Viewpoint) - Who could have known that an investment in forestry by one of the world’s largest petrochemical companies, Royal Dutch Shell, would result less than 20 years later in Botnia’s first investment outside of Finland and Uruguay’s first mega pulp mill.

In 1990, Shell had a “non-traditional” business division and one of its objectives was to explore alternative energy sources such as wind, solar and biomass. It established a number of these joint ventures around the world.

As Shell had no knowledge of forestry, it teamed with what was Kymmene (later to become UPM-Kymmene) and created a joint venture: Compania Forestal Oriental S.A. (FOSA). The company was owned 60% by Shell, 40% by Kymmene.

Oriental does not mean Asian. In fact, the full formal name of the country is the Republica Oriental del Uruguay and it refers to the fact it is on the eastern side of the Uruguay River. At times, the people in this region have called themselves Orientales.

The aim of the joint venture was to plant 35,000 ha with eucalyptus to be used as pulp wood (or as an energy source). Although it was not using eucalyptus as a raw material at the time, Kymmene was interested in exploring its use so this opportunity was a timely venture for the company. The project was written out on a simple piece of paper and started as “an expression of wishes”, according to Forestal Oriental technical director José García De León.

The cutting house for the clones

Seeds from South Africa

The San Francisco nursery (about 100 km from Fray Bentos) was built in 1991. That same year, the first seedlings were planted using stock provided by Mondi in South Africa. Mondi seeds were also used in the nursery.

The company started a comprehensive breeding program and commenced buying land, an average of 4,500 ha/yr. By the end of 2007, the company owned nearly 180,000 ha, about 60% of which are plantations. The balance is used for roads and other infrastructure, cattle grazing and reserves (e.g., wetlands and native forests). All of the company’s productive forests are FSC-certified and there is an active program to include the most recently purchased land in the certificate.

The development of forests for eucalyptus followed Uruguay’s forestry promotion acts, passed law in 1968 and 1988. The latter aimed to integrate forestry with traditional agricultural activities while establishing a platform for a new industrial sector.

García De León explains that Uruguay’s land is comprehensively mapped by soil type. Landowners can access a soil map from the Internet that states the soil type and expected productivity of the land. The country’s forestry acts hold certain tax incentives/exemptions for certain soil types. “So, when you are buying land, you have to ensure it has the appropriate soil,” he adds. What this means is that a farmer cannot buy land that is deemed to be high-quality and then plant what the government says is a low-quality crop. For example, forestry soils are considered low-quality compared with standard soil. They are sandy and have lower fertility. That’s why the country’s plantations are in certain regions. Most of the plantations are on what were previously low production grasslands.

Meanwhile, the work in the nursery went well. By 1994-95, FOSA had started collecting cuttings for clones and the number, their potential productivity and deployment has increased steadily since that date. By 1996, it had become self-sufficient in Eucalyptus Grandis seeds. The company must still buy seeds for the other eucalyptus species it plants, Dunnii. These come mostly from Australia. The Dunnii is more suitable for lower elevations (although the country as a whole is relatively flat).

The Finns take over

In the early part of the new century, Shell decided to leave the forestry business. In 2003, in preparation for the pulp mill decision that was soon to come, the Finns assumed 100% ownership of FOSA (UPM 38.38%; Botnia 60%, and Finnfund 1.62%). That same year, FOSA became a shareholder in Tile Forestal, Uruguay’s largest wood exporter. In 2006, the companies were merged to become Forestal Oriental.

Its main objective is to supply the pulp mill on a sustainable basis with 60-70% of its pulp wood needs (totaling some 3.5 million m3/yr). The rest comes from third party growers (through its Fomento program) and, at least in the short-term, stumpage purchases from third parties.

In 2007, the San Francisco nursery produced 26 million plants: 19 million seedlings and 7 million rooted cuttings.

The production cycle in the nursery is about four months although in the high season (late spring/summer, i.e., October-February) it can be as short as 12 weeks. There are two main planting seasons: spring and autumn.

The nursery has 38 greenhouses for growing seedlings, 12 greenhouses for rooting and three for “mother” plants. There is another 1 ha area for hardening, where the young trees are sent prior to planting.

The cuttings (clones) are planted in a mixture of composted pine bark and vermiculite. The bark is purchased from area sawmills and composted at the nursery. The seedlings are planted in the pine bark alone.

For breeding, strict records are kept of the pollen (“father” tree) to know where each tree came from.

Production in the nursery is the result of a careful planning process. Management knows ahead of time what needs to be planted and where they can produce what is needed. A lot of work is also done in the greenhouses to ensure uniformity of the seedlings/cuttings to be planted.

Cloning is still a work in progress for Forestal Oriental. It allows the company to pick the best trees and the aim is to have a forest with constant uniformity. García De León says the plan is to have 10 clones in production at any given time and replace two of them with new clones annually. This would maintain genetic diversity in the plantations. Currently, it has seven clones and is replacing one of them. These are all currently Grandis-based clones. Dunnii clones are expected to be ready by 2010. García De León stresses that under the forest management plan, the company does not want to have any more than 5% of its plantable land given over to any one given clone.

Although Grandis and Dunnii are the two eucalyptus species being planted, Forestal Oriental is moving into intra-specific hybrids. It is doing work now with grandis/globulus.

This is Eucalyptus Grandis clone 107 shown just after planting (above), at six months (middle) and at one year (with Ricardo Buzzo, silviculture supervisor, District III). It may be difficult to tell from the picture of the just planted seedlings but the soil is exceptionally sandy

Matchmaking is important

García De León explains that Forestal Oriental will study the planting sites carefully to match the right species with the climate and soil quality. “Although the country may look homogenous, it’s not,” he adds. “We classify the sites, map them and identify the main limiting factors.”

For example, if there is a risk of frost, Dunnii will be planted as it is hardier than grandis.

In discussing maturation, García De León says there are different regions. For example, close to the nursery in the Rio Uruguay area (Paysandu), Forestal Oriental is producing pulp wood, which means trees can be harvested after eight to 10 years. In the Tacuarembo region, further east, the plantation there has a thinning and pruning regime. This extends the rotation age to about 16 years as the mature trees are used for solid wood products. The thinnings are used for pulp.

The mature wood is sold to local sawmills. For example, Weyerhaeuser as well as a Chilean group each have plywood mills in the region. Sawlogs are also sold to Viet Nam and shipped in containers.

The yield target is 40 m3/ha/yr. The potential of the clones now being used is 35-36 m3/ha/yr. Considering that the yield was only 21-22 m3/ha/yr when the operation forest started in the early 1990s, the company has done well. García De León notes that these figures refer to solid, utilizable wood, no bark or branches. Pulp yield is in the 51-52% range.

The bark and branches are left on the ground when the trees are harvested. The mortality rate at planting is very low, according to García De León. “Normal survival rate is 95% and we do not replace failures,” he adds. “Because of the fast growth, you cannot do it. We only replant if we have an area with big losses and then, we replant the entire area.”

“Just for the fun of it”

Among the seedlings’ enemies are ants and hares. These large rabbits will prune an entire row of seedlings “just for the fun of it”, says García De León, “but they don’t eat the tree”.

Other than ants, there is a type of budworm that can be destructive. Crickets tend to go for the young seedlings. However, Forestal Oriental does not spray against this. “We live with it,” García De León says.

Harvesting is mainly mechanized and goes on year-round. Forestal Oriental uses a mixture of its own employees and contractors for harvesting.

A good operator can cut 18-22 m3/operating hour. A harvester does the cutting, debarking and delimbing. A forwarder brings the cut logs to roadside where they are picked up for delivery to the pulp mill or sawmills.

Once harvested, the land is left for a while but is then replanted at the earliest opportunity. There is a site treatment for ants and competitive vegetation. If there has not been enough rain, as the soil is very sandy, planters will plant the seedlings in a moisture retaining gel. After about 1.5 years, the trees are already mature enough that they won’t be bothered by competitive vegetation.

Serving the community

To help the local economy, Forestal Oriental established the Fomento cooperative program with private landowners. The aim is to develop small, medium and large third party growers (mainly farmers looking to diversify) to supply up to 20% of the pulp mill’s wood needs. Forestal Oriental provides technical assistance (planting, harvesting, forest certification) as well as the seedlings. Financing is also available.

“We have a contract with them for the whole technological package,” explains García De León, “including the first option to purchase the wood.”

A minimum price for the wood is set. If prices increase, the owner can increase the price based on the market. If the market slows, the owner is still guaranteed the minimum. “We provide the assistance they want,” García De León adds. “If they want nothing, we provide nothing.”

Although the long-term goal is to have private landowners provide 20% of the wood, they now provide about 40%. This will drop as Botnia has access to more of its own maturing plantations.

This wood was already planted on a woodlot purchased by Forestal Oriental and is about 12 years old

Sweet stuff

Other programs that Forestal Oriental has initiated include beekeeping and grazing. The beekeeping takes advantage of the great honey producing potential of the eucalyptus. Currently, some 350,000 kg of honey is produced annually involving more than 40 producers with 14,000 beehives using Forestal Oriental land. The beehives are kept during the flowering season: February-May. García De León notes that the region just had a very dry summer that was not good for honey production from grassland so the beekeepers were eager for the eucalyptus to flower so they could recover.

Forestal Oriental also allows livestock herders to use the land. This is the biggest and entirely compatible business outside of the actual tree growing. The grazing helps reduce the amount of combustible material left on the ground, thus reducing the risk of fire. Almost 150 producers owning more than 36,000 head of cattle, 1,300 sheep and 400 horses take advantage of this program.

Finally, Forestal Oriental also has a mushroom collection program. Local citizens are invited to enter the land and collect as many mushrooms as they can at no cost. “It took us some years to establish the program,” García De León adds, “because some species are poisonous and we had to run courses to train those interested how to identify which mushrooms were safe to eat.”

As noted, Forestal Oriental has about 180,000 ha of land, but only 60% is used for plantations. The company has a comprehensive environmental management system in place. There are more than 3,500 ha of land, protected (mainly and voluntarily by the company) either for species habitat or for the eco-system. “There is a lot of research being done to identify the species present: animals, birds and plants,” García De León says. University researchers, Forestal Oriental’s own people as well as contract scientists are conducting the research.

The reserved lands host thousands of visitors, mostly students, annually on guided educational tours. Other aspects of the companies’ social programs are delivered through the Botnia Foundation, funded by both Botnia and Forestal Oriental, but with an independent board that vet, approve and monitor the delivery of a wide range of projects to help communities “affected, but not direct beneficiaries” of the companies’ operations.

Forest Oriental also conducts many research projects, either on its own or in collaboration with educational institutions. For example, research on cloning is all done in-house. However, Forestal Oriental is working with the University of Pretoria (South Africa) on disease monitoring. It is working with North Carolina State University (US) on biotechnology development. And, it is working with the national university of Uruguay on various projects: eucalyptus nutrition, hydrology and nutrient recycling.

Some studies of water balance in eucalyptus plantations were and are being done with the purpose of double checking: hydrology cycle and water use balance, water run off and water table variations according to different lithologies (depths), seasons and areas (soils and topography). The data will support and help to improve the multiple use of resources strategy that is currently in place.

In 2000, a modeling of the water balance showed that there was no effect on water balance across FOSA plantation areas. More recently, another study done jointly with the CSIR of South Africa includes a pair cachement and bore hole system to measure water run off and water table variability (if any) after planting in the water cachements under FOSA management.

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http://www.risiinfo.com/magazines/June/2008/PPI/PPIMagJune-Special-Report-Discovering-uruguay.html